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City of Angels (1998)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
3/04, 1/26
1/26:
I wanted to see Der Himmel über Berlin first before proceeding
with City of Angels.
One thing is abundantly clear: they have little in common. In fact, the latter isn't a remake but a
sequel that happens to be a coincidence. The only carryover is the public library for several scenes. However,
the former is a supremely boring movie that made it impossible for me to complete in one sitting whereas the
other one is rather quick.
Bruno Ganz has a kind face, but Nicolas Cage is a much stronger actor and is largely the reason why the film
has a pulse. As Cassiel, Andre Baugher has a nothing role just like Otto Sander and is rather forgettable.
In the place of Peter Falk, it's Dennis Franz who does equally well. Meg Ryan plays the muse.
Until the final half hour, I was ready to give City of Angels a '6'. Director Brad Silberling sabotaged
it when Seth decided to make the fall; the rest of the way is a joke with Nicolas Cage hamming it up. I thought
about '5' but settled for '4' because my time was ultimately wasted.
Meg Ryan is the biggest issue throughout. She is an all-time bad actress, isn't believable as a surgeon, and
spends too much time on her hair. Mira Sorvino would've been a more sensible choice; Téa Leoni is another,
but she did The Family Man with Nicolas Cage anyway. No matter
what, the script needs a lot of work.
The heavenly stuff is very hard to pull off on screen. I can only think of a few that have succeeded:
It's a Wonderful Life,
Field of Dreams, and Ghost.
The main thing is it has to happen naturally. Hollywood just can't force it; therefore, City of Angels
comes off as mawkish because of Nicolas Cage's incessant childlike stares and Meg Ryan's "I Am Feeling Special.
Do You?" mantra.
I knew what was to come at the beginning; otherwise, why would Seth spend so much time around Maggie?
However, I have no sympathy for her when she decided to let her hands go from the handlebar and close her
eyes while cruising down a road before smashing herself against a logging truck. That's a Darwin Award
winner if I ever seen one. Worse, she looked good afterwards when in fact her body should've been completely
obliterated to death.
The other thought is Seth saw Maggie naked one night and liked her body, hence his transformation into a creepy
stalker. I find it unbelievable that when he found out where Maggie went which is Tahoe, he was able to
locate her specifically once there. In the meantime, after she's dead, good luck to him putting up with
the pain and living in the United States without a Social Security number.
All in all, City of Angels is better than
Der Himmel über Berlin but has a lot of problems.